Posts Tagged ‘final four’

At the start of every calendar year you can look forward to four things, cold weather, income taxes and March Madness!! We are down to the sweet round of sixteen with all four number 1 seeds still alive with a chance to be in the Final Four for the first time since 2008. In the south number one seed Kansas should be contested going against a solid Maryland team, while Miami will try to advance further then they ever been when they come face to face with Villanova. In the west two power match-ups with old rivals Texas A&M and Oklahoma while defending champs Duke is trying to become the first repeat champion since the Florida Gators did it with the likes of Joakim Noah and Al Horford in 2006 and 2007. Meanwhile the University of Virginia is seeking its first basketball championship as the number one seed takes on surprise team in Iowa State from the Midwest region. Also in the Midwest bracket, Syracuse and their 3-2 zone will try to slow down Domantas Sabonis and the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Domantas is the son of former NBA big man Arvydas Sabonis of the Portland Trailblazers bet you didn't know that! Syracuse routed "wanna be" Middle Tennessee who could not duplicate their masterful performance against fan favorite Michigan State in the previous round. In the final region in the east a heavyweight bout is set to take place between number one seed North Carolina and the Hoosiers of Indiana this should be a goody. The Marcus Paige led Tar Heels have one of the deepest rosters left in the tournament and its one of the reasons North Carolina has been labeled one of the best teams in the country all year long. Indiana is coming off an impressive performance against college royalty Kentucky in which Indiana overcame the loss of guard Robert Johnson who injured again during the first half of the contest. Notre Dame and Wisconsin square off in what should be a highly contested game. Notre Dame has been carried by their defense but a tip in 1.5 seconds left is what gave them the victory over upstart Stephen Austin. Wisconsin also benefited from a buzzer beater to get past No. 2 seed Xavier despite leading scorer Nigel Hayes being stuck in a shooting slump.
All 16 teams will be trying to advance to the elite 8 and then on to Houston where the Final Four and championship game will be held April 2 and April 4 respectively.